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Minn. man suspected of encouraging suicides

A Minnesota nurse who authorities say got his
kicks by visiting Internet suicide chat rooms and encouraging
depressed people to kill themselves is under investigation in at
least two deaths.

Authorities say 47-year-old William Melchert-Dinkel posed as a
female nurse and feigned compassion for those he chatted with. He
then allegedly offered step-by-step instructions on how to take
their lives.

Authorities say he is tied to the suicides of an 18-year-old
university student in Canada in 2007 and a 32-year-old British man
in 2005.

While the victims' families are frustrated no charges have been
filed, legal experts say prosecuting such a case would be
difficult. In the meantime, he has been stripped of his nursing
license.